By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — There’s been a lot of mayhem lately at the Temple Mount (the summit of Mount Moriah) in Jerusalem, which is a magnet for religious Jews, especially during Passover. Because this year Passover, Easter, and the Muslim holiday of Ramadan coincided, more violence than usual has resulted. The current […]
Jerusalem’s Temple Mount: The Epicenter of Violence Read More »
Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer
By Alex Gordon, Ph.D HAIFA, Israel — Many years ago, I was in the German city of Cologne and went to a station restaurant for lunch. I was surprised when I saw “Chicken Kiev-style” on the menu. I was surprised because I was born and raised in Kiev, and I knew nothing about Chicken Kiev-style.
Confessions of a Foreign Intelligence Agent’s Son Read More »
Alex Gordon, Holocaust, International, Opinion
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Israel is currently in the midst of a mess. But, like others that Israelis have experienced, it is likely to be temporary. The context is made up of several major holidays, the month of Ramadan, plus Pesach, and several holidays around Easter. Those manage to heighten feelings that we
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) When President Joe Biden used the word genocide to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine, it raised some eyebrows. But it didn’t generate the same kind of pushback some of his other previous unscripted remarks about that conflict, such as his call for regime change in Moscow or his threats to
Calling Russia’s War in Ukraine ‘Genocide:’ Does it Matter? Read More »
Holocaust, International, Opinion
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — On the first day of Passover, I left a store and entered my car only to look up and spot two bizarre signs on the wall — one warning of death in “hell-fire” for anyone who kills a son of Islam and the second crediting Muslims for building the
Israeli Police Vs. Circular Logic Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Opinion
(JNS) For the first time in human-rights history, an international mega-corporation has attempted to coerce a licensee into food apartheid. This unprecedented contractual demand has provoked a turning-point lawsuit that asks whether it is legal to attempt to force a food licensee to discriminate against entire communities, especially ethnic ones. More distilled, the lawsuit asks
Ben & Jerry’s Tries to Force Food Apartheid Read More »
Edwin Black, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) In February, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it had developed what it called an “online hate index” to monitor antisemitism on social-media platforms. The effort was conceived as a way to adequately measure the amount of hate speech being posted on sites like Twitter and Reddit, which the group thinks
Should Everyone Be Afraid of Elon Musk Buying Twitter? Read More »
Opinion, USA
By Elior Amar (JNS) On one Tuesday night in February, a small group of Jewish students at UC Santa Cruz, where I serve as a shaliach (Israeli emissary) for the Jewish Agency for Israel, logged into the weekly Zoom meeting of the Student Union Assembly to support the adoption of a working definition of antisemitism. The
Parents: Encourage Your Children to Participate in Student Government Read More »
California, Middle East, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USABy Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — The Temple Mount is an area a bit less than 40 acres and seen as holy by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. With the confluence this year of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, it’s the focus of active conflict, especially between extremist Muslims and Jews. Recently there has been conflict, with
The Temple Mount: Small Area, Intense Conflict Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Terror attacks in Israel are so alarming that the first fatal assault could well have inspired a copycat crime 5,400 miles west — in Lakewood, N.J. Four people, all reportedly Orthodox Jews, were injured when a suspect embarked on a violent crime spree Friday in Lakewood and neighboring Jackson
Tracking the Trail of Terror Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Dr. Sol Lizerbram SAN DIEGO — The Seder table is set. The brisket is in the oven and the guests are about to arrive. The anticipation of another Passover brings with it a welcomed sense of familiarity. However, for the residents of Israel’s Negev and Galilee regions, this year they will ask, “Why is
A Passover Like No Other Read More »
International, Middle East, Opinion, Sol Lizerbram, USABy Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — A week ago, the whip of the Israeli coalition indicated her resignation. Involved were the efforts of the government to allow hospital visitors to bring non-kosher food with them during Passover. The woman who resigned was a member of Naftalt Bennett’s political party, a rightist group in the confused
Coalition Confusion Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Congressional candidate Summer Lee warned Pittsburgh Jews that they cannot trust her if she is elected next November to represent the city and some of its suburbs. Lee did not issue her warning in stark terms, but she sent citizens at least two telling signals. She gave herself away
Summer Lee: More Like Winter for Pittsburgh’s Jewish Voters Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA
(JNS) For all the bluster by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid that they had saved Israeli democracy and stabilized a fragile political system, reality has proven that at best, they provided a temporary respite from political uncertainty. Bennett lost his one-seat parliamentary majority on Wednesday when
Breaking Down Bennett’s Coalition Breakdown Read More »
Middle East, Opinion